Whole fresh fruit and vegetables cannot be moved within a 1.5km area in Avondale, as officials conduct a search for fruit flies.

A single male Queensland fruit fly was discovered in Auckland's Mt Roskill on Tuesday and identified on Wednesday.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has placed controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables around Wolverton Rd in Avondale which may be in place for several weeks.

MPI Deputy Director General of Compliance and Response Andrew Coleman says the restrictions are an important precaution.

"The Queensland fruit fly is an unwanted and notifiable insect that could have serious consequences for our horticultural industries. While we urgently search for any further signs of the fruit fly in the Avondale area, we need the support of local people."

A detailed map of the controlled area and its boundaries is available at the MPI website.

Whole fresh fruit and vegetables can't be taken outside the boundaries.

Within a smaller area, called Zone A, which takes in a circle 200m out from the initial find, whole fruit and vegetables cannot be moved off properties.

However, fruit and vegetables can continue to be transported from outside of the restricted areas into them.

Residents are asked to avoid composting any of these fruits and vegetables.

MPI is encouraging residents to use a sink waste disposal unit to dispose of waste fruits and vegetables.

It is also providing special bins in the Controlled Area for their disposal.

The locations of these bins will be advised soon, MPI says.

"We appreciate this will be inconvenient for the many hundreds of families living in and around Avondale but their compliance with these restrictions is a critical precaution to protect our horticultural industries and home gardens," Coleman says.

"It is likely the restrictions will be in place for at least a couple of weeks.

"At this stage a single male fly has been found in a surveillance trap, and this does not mean there is a population of the fly in New Zealand, but we need to limit the transport of any material that could carry the fly or its larvae while we investigate the situation."